The present invention relates to an improved method of harvesting corn and more specifically to an attachment apparatus to be used on combine and corn head combinations. The apparatus inhibits debris buildup on the corn head and the intake mechanism for the combine. By avoiding debris buildup it aids the operator in avoiding the necessity of stopping the combine and turning off the power apparatus in order to clear the debris. The debris buildup can occur even in normal harvesting conditions, but is much worse when the corn stalks in some of the rows or parts of the field had been blown down due to wind, storms or snow. Often the operator will try to clear the debris by hand while the machine is still running in order to save time. This method of debris removal is exceptionally dangerous due to the moving machinery and rotating machinery which can grab loose clothing or catch hands, legs or feet.
The invention also allows for adjustment of the apparatus to enable the same apparatus to be used on corn heads of many different manufacturers and move from one corn head to another corn head. Additionally, the adaptability of the apparatus allows for varying the spacing of the rows which can occur from field to field and for the spacing and number of rows in a particular corn head. The apparatus also allows for raising and lowering of the working paddles, which aids in the debris movement and aids harvesting by allowing the paddles to be raised when the apparatus is not needed and lowered to the appropriate height when needed. Another means of adjustability that the apparatus includes is the use of a hydraulic motor that is not a direct drive motor. This allows for the changing of sprockets which in turn changes the gear ratio of the rotation of the paddles and the constant speed hydraulic motor. With the indirect drive of the paddle axle and thus the speed of rotation of the paddles the apparatus may be used on older as well as newer machines. Newer machines have increased their speed of operation to two times the speed of older machines.
The apparatus is also specifically designed to avoid debris buildup and prevent debris from wrapping around the essential structural members of the apparatus and to prevent debris from wrapping around the rotating paddles, which are used to remove and force debris into the harvesting corn head mechanism.
Harvesting corn has become a very mechanized operation. The machinery uses a combine with an attached corn head. The corn head operates to cause the corn stalks to be moved into the combine where the corn and kernels are separated from the stalks and debris. The corn head attachment is comprised of corn head fingers that go between the rows of corn like a comb goes through hair. On the opposing surfaces of the fingers there are snapping chains with protrusions that take the corn stalks and break them off from the root section. After the stalks are freed from the root section of the corn stalks, the corn head moves the stalks along with any other leaves or other debris that may be picked up from the field, and moves them rearward to an auger. The auger then moves the stalks and corn to the center of the corn head, where the stalks and corn are transported rearward into the combine machines, where the corn and kernels are separated from the other material that has been harvested.
The corn head mechanism often becomes blocked by buildup of stalks, weeds or other debris that are picked up from the field and buildup either on top of the fingers of the corn head or in front of the auger. This blockage prevents the free flow of the stalks and corn through the mechanism back to the combine. The use of broom handles, sticks or people getting out of the combine to and using their feet to dislodge this debris blockage is well known and a common source of injury and death. There have been adaptations of mechanized brushes that seek to unblock the debris barriers, but they have major shortcomings which are addressed by the within invention. Some of these drawbacks include the structure of the apparatus which was itself a barrier and cause of debris blockage. Additionally, the apparatus had to be permanently or semi permanently attached to the corn head and thus became a dedicated part of one and only one corn head. The paddles or brush structure was itself a major cause of debris buildup and wrapping of debris around the rotating brushwork paddle area. The speed in the earlier apparatus was constant. Because the apparatus was a direct drive system there was no capability of adjusting the speed of rotation for various purposes.
The present invention is an improvement over a prior art sweeper apparatus designed by the inventor, as depicted in, FIGS. 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. This prior art design had drawbacks that are addressed in the current design and as disclosed and explained in this application.
The problems addressed herein include:
a) multiple support arms which allowed collection of debris;
b) a direct drive motor which did not allow for changing the speed of rotation to match the different speeds that various models of combines move down the row. Modern combines can move faster than older combines, but without the ability to have the sweeper rotate at different speeds, the combine""s faster capabilities would not be usable, thus the sweeper could not be used on different combines;
c) the method to attach the sweeper to a corn head was too cumbersome and required drilling and major anchoring, which made it very difficult to move the sweeper to a different corn head, thus, the sweeper could not be easily used on different corn heads;
d) The means of attaching the paddle assemblies to the axle and the paddle assembly design created too many areas to collect debris and allowed the debris to be too caught up in the axle;
e) with the ability to move the sweeper to different corn heads, the adjustments of the sweeper are more important and new adjustments were needed; and
f) the axle for the paddle assemblies became a debris collector and this was corrected in the new design.
The present invention addresses the aforementioned problems with corn heads and with prior methods used to attempt to solve the problems.
The present invention provides great improvement over previous corn harvesting machines and add-on apparatus. One of the purposes of the present invention is to allow for adjustments in the apparatus to accommodate different manufacturers of corn heads, different corn heads and to allow for moving the apparatus from one corn head to another, adjusting for different row spacing of corn rows and for different numbers of rows in a particular corn head whether they be 4, 8 or 12 rows. Additional adjustment capability includes the speed of rotation of the paddle assembly, which thus aids the variable speed at which various combine machines operate.
The present invention also avoids the debris problem which has occurred whereby the structure of the apparatus, such as support arms and paddles, have themselves become the debris accumulators. The present invention uses one or two support arms, thus minimizing the structural supports that may become the collectors of the debris. Additionally, the assembly of the paddles is such that there are fewer rotating bars for rods that tended to collect string, debris, weeds or other material which is common in corn fields. The unique paddle assembly is both easy to construct and efficient in material usage and in its structure. The paddle structure is specifically designed to avoid being the location of and source of wrapping of debris and by its structure actually cuts through various types of debris.